North Korean Missiles: An Inventory

Last year’s fireworks for Kim Il Sung’s birthday; this year Pyongyang may shoot off something larger.

North Korea is expected to launch at least one midrange missile from its eastern coast on or around April 15, the anniversary of the birth of founder Kim Il Sung. South Korean media reports have speculated that Pyongyang may in fact shoot off a range of missiles in a grand fireworks display. Of course, there’s always the possibility that it’s simply playing mind games and won’t launch any.

The midrange missile that the North has deployed is thought to be a Musudan type, which hasn’t been tested before.

Here’s a rundown of North Korea’s missile systems:

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KN-01: Short-range anti-ship cruise missile. Range estimated at 160 kilometers. Believed to be an improved version of the Soviet Termit missile.

KN-02: Short-range, solid-fueled, highly accurate mobile missile. Modified copy of the Soviet OTR-21; unknown number in service. Believed to have been deployed in the late 1990s or early 2000s.

Hwasong-6 (Scud-C): Later Scud modification. Increased range of 500 kilometers and smaller payload of 700 to 800 kilograms. Said to be the most widely deployed missile, with at least 400 units in service.

Rodong-1/-2: Midange missile with an estimated range of about 1,300 kilometers and payload of 700 kilograms; capable of reaching across Japan; presumed capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.

*Musudan: Road-mobile missile that physically resembles a 1960s-era Soviet submarine missile called the SS-N-6. Estimated range of 3,000 to 4,000 kilometers, with a payload of 650 kilograms, so capable of direct strikes on South Korea, Japan and Guam—putting U.S. military bases at risk. Reports of its existence first appeared in the Western press in the mid-2000s, and the world outside North Korea got its first good look in 2010, when Musudans rolled in a military parade in Pyongyang. No test-firing yet.

Taepodong-2: Multistage missile, believed to be a potential intercontinental ballistic missile with possible strategic capability against continental U.S. Estimated range of more than 6,700 kilometers. Still in development stage. No test-firing yet.

Intercontinental ballistic missiles: The possibility of North Korea’s developing an ICBM capable of delivering a chemical, biological, or nuclear warhead to the U.S. continent remains a grave concern. Given repeated test failures, most missile experts believe Pyongyang is far from achieving this goal. A year ago North Korea displayed a new long-range missile, the KN-08, that some experts believe may be part of an ICBM development process. Others suspect it’s a fake.